TeleMetrum Battery with Featherweight Charger?

[troj]

Does anyone know if the Featherweight LiPo charger will properly charge the LiPo that AltuMetrum offers for the TeleMetrum?

What other charges do folks know of that A) have the right connector, and B) will charge it properly?

-Kevin

 

[beezwax]

Altus Metrum battery on top, Featherweight battery below. They do not have the same connections so unfortunately the chargers are not interchangeable unless you rig up some kind of adapter cable.

 

[ClayD]

Does anyone know if the Featherweight LiPo charger will properly charge the LiPo that AltuMetrum offers for the TeleMetrum?

What other charges do folks know of that A) have the right connector, and B) will charge it properly?

-Kevin

Kevin, altusmetrum sells a charger that is not too expensive.

https://auric.gag.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=36&product_id=76

In EDIT ***
Its a standard JST connector, (I THINK) it's used to balance the cells. so any JST balancer/charger should do. the automatic ones will do but are more like 80.00. I have a good one that i got from an RC plane, that works for anything less than 11volts, and was free...

 

[troj]

Kevin, altusmetrum sells a charger that is not too expensive.

https://auric.gag.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=36&product_id=76

Thanks! I overlooked that while poking around their site!



-Kevin

 

[Zephhyr]

I will venture to say yes it will charge both, as long as you have the proper connector.

I use a 4 channel digital charger that has the capabilities to charge just about any type of rechargeable battery there is.

https://www.hitecrcd.com/products/chargers-setup-equipment/x4-multi-charger.html

 

[CarVac]

Does anyone know if the Featherweight LiPo charger will properly charge the LiPo that AltuMetrum offers for the TeleMetrum?

What other charges do folks know of that A) have the right connector, and B) will charge it properly?

-Kevin

DON'T DO IT

I fried my Telemini LipoCharger with an R/C JST-connector battery, since the SparkFun ones that Altus Metrum supplies use the opposite polarity.

Just get a LipoCharger from Altus Metrum. It's a great product: it's tiny, uses the same micro-USB as Android phones, and it has selectable current between 100 mA and 500 mA.

 

[Zephhyr]

You can use these
https://www.all-battery.com/molexconnector80075.aspx
To make your own charging leads.

 

[daveyfire]

Thanks! I overlooked that while poking around their site!

You got one of the gateway-drug TeleMini starter sets at Black Friday, yes? If so, that has a LipoCharger in it, too:

Either that, or I got super lucky on my order

 

[ClayD]

DON'T DO IT

I fried my Telemini LipoCharger with an R/C JST-connector battery, since the SparkFun ones that Altus Metrum supplies use the opposite polarity.

Just get a LipoCharger from Altus Metrum. It's a great product: it's tiny, uses the same micro-USB as Android phones, and it has selectable current between 100 mA and 500 mA.

Wow, thats good to know!!! whoda thunk it would be backsies day at sparkfun? NOTE TO SELF....

 

[Zephhyr]

As with any electronics you need to be very mindful of polarity ESPECIALLY when charging LiPo batteries.

I make all my own battery charger pigtails, and have never had a problem.

 

[troj]

You got one of the gateway-drug TeleMini starter sets at Black Friday, yes? If so, that has a LipoCharger in it, too:
<img src="https://www.rocketryforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=109249"/>
Either that, or I got super lucky on my order

Nope, for Christmas, my wife got me a TeleMetrum Starter Set. The altimeter has a charger built in, but is rather use something external to the alt

 

[daveyfire]

Nope, for Christmas, my wife got me a TeleMetrum Starter Set. The altimeter has a charger built in, but is rather use something external to the alt

Ah, copy. Lucky. You get to use all the shiny bells and whistles in AltOS!

 

[troj]

Ah, copy. Lucky. You get to use all the shiny bells and whistles in AltOS!

It slices, it dices, it ejectiennes!

Really cool little unit, that I'm working on understanding the use of. I'll have to do some retrofitting of airframes, to give it places to go for a ride, and work its magic -- I want to use it as more than just a tracker.

-Kevin

 

[ClayD]

It slices, it dices, it ejectiennes!

Really cool little unit, that I'm working on understanding the use of. I'll have to do some retrofitting of airframes, to give it places to go for a ride, and work its magic -- I want to use it as more than just a tracker.

-Kevin

uhm... Gateway is right....

carefull, you wont want to look back.

 

[blackjack2564]

Right off their website...... [Altus]

OPPOSITE polarity connectors!

 

[CarVac]

Right off their website...... [Altus]

OPPOSITE polarity connectors!

I don't remember that being there when I bought my replacement, so perhaps they added that recently in response to my case?

 

[BEC]

Useful info here.... I was just contemplating the opposite situation - powering my shiny new TeleMini with single cells intended for ultra micro RC models like the one shown in post 2. Now I know what connector to look for to make an adapter up.

I will say the tiny little Altus Metrum charger seems to work very nicely. In particular if one doesn't already have a charger for those little RC single cells "batteries", it would be a good choice. The hardest thing about it might be not loosing it on your work bench or field box as it's tiny - with slightly smaller length and width than the 110 mAh cell they use for the TeleMini.

Yes, I got my gateway drug package on their black Friday sale, too.....and just found my newly issued call sign in the FCC database yesterday. So I'm on my way.....

 

[BEC]

Its a standard JST connector, (I THINK) it's used to balance the cells. so any JST balancer/charger should do. the automatic ones will do but are more like 80.00. I have a good one that i got from an RC plane, that works for anything less than 11volts, and was free...

As long as that RC charger can:

a) charge a single cell and
b) do so at 100 mA or so (for TeleMini) or 900mA or so (for TeleMetrum).

The little charger from Altus Metrum has two rates - 100 and 500 mA.

Many balance chargers can't do only one cell. From my over 30 years in electric powered RC airplanes I have acquired a bunch of chargers. I can only think of one cell-balancing RC charger I have that off top of my head will work on this cell that comes with the TeleMini package (when used with a suitable adapter).

Even LiPolys this small are nothing to be trifled with.

 

[ClayD]

As long as that RC charger can:

a) charge a single cell and
b) do so at 100 mA or so (for TeleMini) or 450mA or so (for TeleMetrum).

Many balance chargers can't do only one cell. From my over 30 years in electric powered RC airplanes I have acquired a bunch of chargers. I can only think of one cell-balancing RC charger I have that off top of my head will work on this cell that comes with the TeleMini package (when used with a suitable adapter).

Even LiPolys this small are nothing to be trifled with.

I didn't think the telemetrum battery was single cell? i had 7.4 volts stuck in my head, 3.7 volts is single cell, so really you don't need a balance charger.
my charger will charge 1-3 cells and was free with my airplane...uses a standard jst connector.

30 years of electric RC powered planes????? realy??? were you flying lead-acid batteries?
https://www.xheli.com/thunder-ac6-charger-power.html
here is the one that comes to mind.

 

[keithp]

Its a standard JST connector, (I THINK) it's used to balance the cells. so any JST balancer/charger should do.

NO NO NO NO NO. We started with batteries from Spark Fun, and while they do use a standard JST connector, it turns out the polarity is *reversed* from what similar RC batteries and chargers use. We've also had people try to plug 7.4 volt batteries or higher to our boards. When you plug the wrong polarity or voltage in, you let all of the magic smoke out.

Please check both polarity and voltage when using chargers or batteries not purchased from Spark Fun or us!

 

[keithp]

I don't remember that being there when I bought my replacement, so perhaps they added that recently in response to my case?

Yup, your adventures encouraged me to go looking for batteries from other vendors where I discovered that those used for RC airplanes appear to be swapped. That there would be other people using the same connector with the wires swapped never occurred to us.

 

[troj]

NO NO NO NO NO. We started with batteries from Spark Fun, and while they do use a standard JST connector, it turns out the polarity is *reversed* from what similar RC batteries and chargers use. We've also had people try to plug 7.4 volt batteries or higher to our boards. When you plug the wrong polarity or voltage in, you let all of the magic smoke out.

Please check both polarity and voltage when using chargers or batteries not purchased from Spark Fun or us!

....which is why I just took the easy way out, and ordered a couple spare batteries, as well as a charger, straight from you and Bdale. That way, I don't have to play the "I sure hope I ordered the right thing" game.

-Kevin

 

[cwbullet]

Thank for clearing that up. I just bought one and would have tried this.

 

[keithp]

Nope, for Christmas, my wife got me a TeleMetrum Starter Set.

We saw the order come in a while ago, and it was pretty hard for us to *not* say anything

 

[keithp]

TeleMetrum has the charger built in to the board, but TeleMini is too small for the necessary USB connector and battery management chip, so Bdale created the LipoCharger board.

Note that the LipoCharger board has a switch that selects between two different charging rates -- 500mA and 100mA. For the little 110mAh batteries included with TeleMini, you should charge them at the lower current level or risk reducing the life of the battery. For the 900mAh batteries included with TeleMetrum, you should charge them at the higher rate. Note that TeleMetrum charges at only 100mA, so using the LipoCharger board will charge the battery about five times faster.

 

[ClayD]

NO NO NO NO NO. We started with batteries from Spark Fun, and while they do use a standard JST connector, it turns out the polarity is *reversed* from what similar RC batteries and chargers use. We've also had people try to plug 7.4 volt batteries or higher to our boards. When you plug the wrong polarity or voltage in, you let all of the magic smoke out.

Please check both polarity and voltage when using chargers or batteries not purchased from Spark Fun or us!

Keith, don't have my Telemetrum in front of me at the moment, but does it mark the +&- on the battery pin? (just thinking off the top of my head to make sure i don't mess something up?)
I am working on a project, and looking at making a single power header for multiple devices. very tight quarters, and a 7.4v and 11.1v lipo's are my first choice to make my other electronics run in concert with this one. one of the boards has a 7.2v brown out limit.

Does the TM have a Voltage limiter, if a higher voltage is used?

 

[troj]

We saw the order come in a while ago, and it was pretty hard for us to *not* say anything

I'm sure Deb greatly appreciates your discretion! As for me, I greatly appreciate the new toy.

-Kevin

 

[keithp]

Keith, don't have my Telemetrum in front of me at the moment, but does it mark the +&- on the battery pin?

Yup, in the usual ultra-tiny text, there's a '+' and a '-' just above the battery connector. Holding the board with the antenna up and the battery connector facing you, the '+' is on the left, and the '-' is on the right.

 

[BEC]

I didn't think the telemetrum battery was single cell?

Well, my TeleMini came with a single 110 mAh cell. The little UM "battery" shown in post 2 is also really a single cell. You can't charge more than one from a USB source without some kind of voltage booster, since a fully charged two-cell LiPoly battery is 8.4V.

30 years of electric RC powered planes????? realy??? were you flying lead-acid batteries?

No, GE 550 mAh 1/2subC NiCd cells. Eight of them for an Astro 05, four of them for an Astro 020. This was before there were any electronic speed controls of any sort for planes and a flight that gained a little altitude while maneuvering to keep the plane on the field was considered a success. Jim Zarembski's ElectraGlide 62 - an Astro 05 powered glider - was my first successful electric airplane. These small Astro Flight motors were repurposed Igarashi ferrite magnet industrial motors. Astro Flight purpose built the 25 and 40 - but they were too rich for me at the time (as was the awkward charging means).


That charger has specs that say it could be used for the TeleMini, TeleMetrum cells ..... with an appropriate cable. The balance board that appears to come with it doesn't have a connector for a single cell and as Keith notes elsewhere, getting polarity right is critical.

In the early days of balance connectors on LiPoly batteries for RC there were cases where battery makers would use the same balance plug but who did not agree on the pinouts of same. Messy business.

 

[ClayD]

Well, my TeleMini came with a single 110 mAh cell. The little UM "battery" shown in post 2 is also really a single cell. You can't charge more than one from a USB source without some kind of voltage booster, since a fully charged two-cell LiPoly battery is 8.4V.

No, GE 550 mAh 1/2subC NiCd cells. Eight of them for an Astro 05, four of them for an Astro 020. This was before there were any electronic speed controls of any sort for planes and a flight that gained a little altitude while maneuvering to keep the plane on the field was considered a success. Jim Zarembski's ElectraGlide 62 - an Astro 05 powered glider - was my first successful electric airplane. These small Astro Flight motors were repurposed Igarashi ferrite magnet industrial motors. Astro Flight purpose built the 25 and 40 - but they were too rich for me at the time (as was the awkward charging means).


That charger has specs that say it could be used for the TeleMini, TeleMetrum cells ..... with an appropriate cable. The balance board that appears to come with it doesn't have a connector for a single cell and as Keith notes elsewhere, getting polarity right is critical.

In the early days of balance connectors on LiPoly batteries for RC there were cases where battery makers would use the same balance plug but who did not agree on the pinouts of same. Messy business.

Thats cool, I knew they were around but by no means a mainstream. My first nitro was about 15years ago. Just now gettting into the electric end.